Rastafarian Symbolism In The Visual Arts Essay

Rastafarian Symbolism In The Visual Arts Essay

Essay Preview

Rastafarian Symbolism In The Visual Arts
Works Cited Missing

[NOTE: BECAUSE OF CONCERN ABOUT RIGHTS, WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO POST THE IMAGES THIS ESSAY REFERS TO]

"Art has the power of liberating man from certain drudgeries and their way of life. A man who was born in the ghetto can't afford to be a Sunday painter, his whole life is involved in getting across his ideas; Rastafarianism, politics, Black culture and all that. Even our meeting here now is an artistic involvement. Some people do art with love here, politics there and so forth; now, to me art is one cosmic consciousness. The way you love, live, and even the way you hate: even your negative expressions connote a certain art-form. So I really do not separate my art from my other sphere of life."-Ras"T"(Barrett,187)

The words of Ras"T", captured by Leonard E. Barrett, Sr. in his book The Rastafarians, are an excellent representation of the Rastaman's struggle to survive as an artist in Jamaica. They also reveal the core concept of Rastafarianism itself; the idea that one is born with Rasta inside them, and a true Rasta lives every second of every day in spiritual contact with Jah, Rastafari. One cannot be a Sunday worshiper of Rastafarianism. For the Rastafarian artist, every stroke of every painting or each chip of wood from the sculpture is inspired by Jah.

Despite the problems such as lack of materials, and difficulties in getting exposure for their work, many members of the Rastafarian movement have turned to artistic expression in order to convey the Rastaman's message, and also as a means of out-letting their spirituality. These expressions include visual art, music, and poetry. In some cases, the Rastas use their artistic ability to create crafts an...

... middle of paper ...

...t understand the symbolism and the thoughts that are put into such incredible displays of talent. The Rastafarians have contributed so much to their country's culture that goes by unnoticed. In the words of Barrett:"Great social developments are not always made in the halls of parliament or in the citadels of learning. These institutions merely react to the dreams of the creative mass. Some of the most creative trends in nations' development are born in the dreams of the visionaries, the radicals, the seers, and the charismatic prophets."(Barrett, 266). Many of these prophets are artists, and their beliefs are so strong that they are able to rise out of the poverty they live in and project their messages anywhere they will go. The Rastaman will be heard, and through the symbolism discussed in the previous pages, he can be heard. If only people will listen, and look.

Need Writing Help?

- “Human beings intuit, symbolize, think, and express themselves through dance, music, theatre, and visual art” (Bynoe, Colby 2011). In a future I plan to inspire children and youth, especially my students to love and appreciate the arts. As a future teacher, I will integrate all the VAPA (Visual and Performing Arts) to make the lessons more interesting and to benefit the students. One of the major VAPA I am taking into consideration to use in my future career is visual art. Visual Art could benefit students by improving thinking, accessing emotion, processing information and healing trauma (Bynoe, Colby 2011).... [tags: Art, Visual arts, Work of art, Arts]

- Because this is the best opportunity to do my absolute two favorite things on earth at the same time : to see new artworks and to create new things. I know I want to work in the art field since I was a child, growing up I would purchase this Chinese art magazine called Vision, there were two issues from the magazine that specifically intrigued me: 1) There are professionals called graphic designer, which I would love to be one in the future, 2) an article about the high line park and the concept of making art public.... [tags: Art, Modern art, Arts, Visual arts]

- Music is a category of art all of its own. It has a strong power (per se) because it complements the being. It is pleasing to us without our even noticing most times that this is what it accomplishes. Music is more satisfying than the feeling of working on a mathematical equation; it touches our souls and reflects us inwardly and completely. It is a precise construct and can’t be held in equal comparison with the visual arts. While music is neither an internalized contentment that cannot definitively be explained nor is needed to be learned to fully enjoy it.... [tags: Art, Music, Visual arts, Fine art]

- Everyone can create visual arts. One hundred years ago, mostly men, had been relatively accepted to have the skill to on their own be able to do art. It unfortunately was widely believed that creativity came from men and that women could not be created. Some even believed that pieces that a woman put their work were unintentionally credited to have unfortunately been painted by relatives or tutors. This was all done to hold a woman back from what they could do, however some still achieved for a time what they sought.... [tags: Art, Visual arts, Fine art, Art history]

- The first time I heard the phrase “arts advocacy” was about three years ago. I had obviously heard the words “arts” and “advocacy” before, and certainly knew what those words meant, but I had never heard the words used together. At the time, I was performing in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) and my director told us about how important arts advocacy is and how badly it was lacking in the South. Now, of course, that is a generalization, however it rang true for Lubbock, Texas, and after moving to Norman, Oklahoma, I observed the same problem: there is a lack of arts advocacy in the Oklahoma community.... [tags: Art, Human, Music, The arts]

- This Arts X event was a day of the arts, with extraordinary possibilities. Arts X displayed a large variety of arts from visual art, performance art and everything in between. There was a plethora of musical and theatrical performances, such as the Walleye Quartet, Gravity Quartet, and Kaze No Daichi Taiko. While many events were scheduled performance you made sure not to miss, there were many opportunities to seek art demos, art activities, and many displays. A few of the demos presented were, large formatting printing shown in the MCap Lab, ceramic throwing and making demo displayed in the ceramics studio, and a demo of 3D digital printing in the metals shop.... [tags: Art, Arts, Visual arts, The arts]

- Introduction Visual art is a term that is broad in meaning and describes an array of different elements that make up the category of what is depicted as art and what Americans transcend from art to be of philosophical value. Throughout American history, humans have been fascinated with the aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, and logic of art, and have adopted their understanding of these philosophies through global, historical, societal, and cultural context of the visual arts as a beginning form of language.... [tags: Art, Aesthetics, Fine art, Thomas Jefferson]

- “Studies show that access to arts education in school offers distinct benefits to economically disadvantaged youth and students at risk of dropping out” (Ruppert). The importance of visual and performing art classes that provide art education has been debated for several of years. Many feel that art education has no actual use and is a waste of time for those involved. But in reality, “Students at risk of dropping out of school indicate their participation in the arts as a reason for staying in school” (Ruppert).... [tags: Importance of Fine Arts]

- Gaston School of the Arts provides quality, affordable instruction in Music, Visual Arts and Drama for Children and Adults in Gaston County and the surrounding areas. Scholarship opportunities are available for needs based students to ensure community access to our programs. Individual lessons for children and adults are offered in: piano, woodwinds, violin, guitar, voice, mandolin, banjo and percussion. The GSOA Youth Orchestra offers performance opportunities for students ranging from beginner to advanced musicians.... [tags: Music, The arts, Art, Visual arts]

- Visual Arts and the Internet I have selected the area of visual arts to give examples of websites that I have found exploring the impact of new technologies. Artist’s influence from technology has allowed them the freedom to expand their mediums in which they work with, exhibit their work world wide, collaborate with other artists and discover new concepts with scientists. Artists’ are always looking for something new and different, the best possible way to communicate their ideas. Cynthia Beth Rubin is an artist who is interested in how in all of us there are embedded cultural traditions merging and colliding.... [tags: Computers Media Technology Essays]